Preparing for the CLTSLA 

The Cued Language Transliterator State Level Assessment (CLTSLA) is delivered by state agencies and may be administered under different names (e.g., Virginia Quality Assurance Screening). The following information is intended to support CLTs who are preparing for the CLTSLA. However, candidates should direct questions to their state agency as test scope, procedures, format, and administration may vary from state to state.

Written Assessment

The following list of books offers suggested reading to prepare for the written assessment.

  • Cued Language Structure: An Analysis of Cued American English Based on Linguistic Principles by Earl Fleetwood and Melanie Metzger, Calliope Press.

  • The Guide to the Proper Practice of Cued Language Transliteration by Earl Fleetwood and Melanie Metzger, Calliope Press.

  • Language Files: Materials for an Introduction to Language and Linguistics by the Department of Linguistics, Ohio State University, Ohio State University Press.

  • Cued Speech Resource Book for Parents of Deaf Children by R. Orin Cornett and Mary Elsie Daisey, National Cued Speech Association.

Terminology

  • accent

  • allophone

  • articulator

  • assistive listening devises

  • audiogram

  • Auditory Environmental Stimuli (AES)

  • chunking

  • connected discourse/ liaisons

  • cued language

  • deciBel (dB)

  • dialect

  • Hertz (Hz)

  • Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

  • inflection

  • interpreting

  • intonation

  • language

  • least restrictive environment

  • mainstream

  • morpheme

  • onomatopoeia

  • paraphrasing

  • phoneme

  • phonemic

  • phonetic

  • prelingually deaf

  • prosody

  • self-contained classroom

  • speech

  • signed language

  • signing

  • spoken language

  • summarizing

  • synchronization

  • transphonation

  • transliterator

  • transliteration

  • voicing

 

Performance Assessment

Sections of the performance assessments for the CLTSLA require candidates to identify and differentiate speakers, include Auditory Environmental Stimuli (AES), paraphrase content, transliterate foreign language, and convey speaker pronunciation while maintaining cued English accuracy, clarity, and synchronization. It is recommended that candidates attend training and dedicate study and practice to each of these skill areas. Sections of the test will also assess a candidate’s ability to transliterate academic material at a conversational rate of delivery. Cued English fluency is an expected prerequisite for candidates.

The CLTSLA assesses a candidate’s ability to voice for deaf consumers. Candidates are expected to maintain cueing accuracy, clarity, and synchronization while delivering the deaf consumer’s message faithfully with regard to content, mood, and intensity.